Faster Doesn't Mean Better!!!

Fast food. Not true. Why hasn't anyone sued fast food places for false advertising?

Take it from a person who has seen the other side of the counter in more than one fast food chain, calling it food should be criminal. A tasteless, overcooked, below grade semi-meat patty should never be consittered a culinary treat. Processed food is the number one reason a society should rethink it's definition of "good food fast". Lots of salt, fat, preservatives, and stuff like oat kernels as well as things I can neither spell or pronounce. Exercize all you want but a steady diet of pre-packaged processed "food" is still going to make you unhealthy. Loads of sugars, salt, and  white bread can all lead a person to have high blood pressure, sluggishness, and even fat.

Now I know it's easy and convenient to head to the nearest drive-thru at the end of a hard day of work, but sometimes convenience comes with a price. In this case you give up taste and health. Rewarding your kids with these "treats" is only re-enforcing bad choices in our youth's eating habits.  All I know is that when the local police department feeds the prisioners, they feed them fast food, now hows that a "treat". When you think about it by giving your kids fast food, you're feeding them like a prisioner. I can't remember the last time someone went to prision because the food was outstanding.

So how can you break the cycle of bad eating?

Simple. Keep cold cuts on hand as well as large sized tortillas and let the kids make and eat wraps. Frozen beef patties can be baked in the oven and served on wheat rolls for a healthier alternitive to burger joints. Salad mixes are easy to find at your local food store and can be combined millions of different ways to create healthy and delicious summer dinners. The things all these suggestions have in common is that they are quick and easy as well as healthy.

 My favorite fast and easy dinner is canned tuna in water seasoned with garlic powder, black pepper, and onion powder as well as diced fresh celery with light mayo on rye bread with a soup of rice noodles cooked in chicken brooth and flavored with green onion. Quick, easy and healthy as well as full flavored. It will leave you satisfied and feeling good. So please try to find ways to feed your family fast and easy without resorting to ordering pizza, or visiting the drive-thru. I think you'll find your family won't miss them.

One last thought, if you are going to eat at a chain restaurant please give Panera Bread a try. I've had both breakfast and lunch there and I was blown away. The menu is a culinary delight. They have many diffrent soups and sandwiches on fresh baked bread. You walk in that place and the smell alone hooks you. everything they make from breakfast sandwiches like Asiago Bagel Breakfast sandwiches to Ciabatta Breakfast Sandwiches. You also get the freshest coffee I have ever had anywhere outside of Starbucks. They put the time the coffee was brewed right on the carafe so you know how long the brew has been out. On both of my visits never once did I see a coffee more than 20 minutes old before it was changed out with a fresher pot. 

The lunch I had was also great, I had a Cuban inspired sandwich that was excellent. The Black Bean soup was a rich and hardy side worthy of it being a main course. And again the coffee was fresh and robust without the bitterness that you find at other coffee shops. The end result was an amazing meal in a comfortable dinning room that didn't break the bank. To make things even better they have a kids menu so the whole family is welcome!!!!

Never Let Your Meat Loaf

The one thing you need to know about me is I am not a vegetarian, I enjoy the life of an omnivore. I understand the vegetarian lifestyle as it pertains to religious beliefs and do enjoy some veggie dishes, but for the most part I like meat.  Pork is my favorite. The pig is a noble beast that when in the right hands can be the most delectable of all the meats out there. On the same turn if you don't know how to handle the beautiful slabs of bovine it can turn into shoe leather or make you very sick. My suggestion is always have a thermometer on hand to make sure the piggies core temperature is 160 degrees before serving it to your guests.
Another thing about cooks and pork is the unexplainable need to serve it with applesauce every time they make it. I can't tell you how many different cuts of pork I have had and found a side of apple mush plopped down next to it. Stop please, we get it applesauce goes good with pork. Next time you make pork try something off the beaten path like a simple Rice Pilaf or Egg Noodles with sour cream and chives. Cornbread also makes a nice addition to the meal especially if Barbecue Sauce is involved. Pork is such a versatile meat that limiting yourself to what you accent it with is just plain lazy or unadventurious. Live a little, find side dishes you like and try putting them with your pork entrees.

We've all seen it, a big hunk of brown mystery meat in the loaf shape, Meatloaf. For some just to mention it sends chills up their spine or sees them run into the bathroom dry heaving. It's the Frankenstein of all meat entrees. We grew up on it, our Moms serving it with pride like it was their best meal. Most times it was a dry brick of beef and pork bound together by breadcrumbs or a messy giant meatball leaking fatty juices covered with catsup. Either way it seemed to be a dish your Mom threw together at the last minute because she really didn't want to cook all day or was tired. Beef, pork (if you were lucky), and catsup all wrapped up in brick form, yum.

Meatloaf is a canvas. It is a wide open space just waiting to be filled. May I suggest an alterenitive to your Mom's meatloaf?

Try mixing ground beef (or Turkey if you want to be healthy) with equal parts ground pork, one egg, a diced onion (yellow works best), 1/2 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs, A-1 Steaksauce, with a tablespoon of Herbs De Provence. Lightly oil a Loaf pan and put half the mix in it. Create an indent in the mixture leaving 1/2 inch unchanneled on all sides. Place sliced cubes of Velveta cheese into the hollowed out section of the mix. Fill in the rest of the mix covering the cheese. Cover the top of the meatloaf with more A-1 sauce. Bake the loaf for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Let sit for 5 minutes and then serve. The cheese adds such a creamy texture and the A-1 makes the beef and pork so succulent and spicy you'll forget all about bland Meatloaf.

I suggest you serve your adult guests a dark beer or a deep red wine with your now awesome Meatloaf.

I hope you feel a little bit more comfortable when it comes to pork. No one should be affraid to cook anything. Pork can be a tasty deversion from beef and chicken. So as long as you treat it with respect the pork will be good to you.

An introduction to my blog.

Have you ever been in a place where you felt really out of place?
That is where I am. I'm not a computer kind of guy let alone someone that would have a blog. This is a brand new world for me from top to bottom. I'm normally a guy who laughs at people who blog, it just always seemed "geeky" to me. So here I am sitting in front of my computer hunt and peck typing my way into the world of cyber space, suddenly I feel dirty. What next an I-phone, a Kindle, maybe I'll even learn to text message or buy a GPS?
If I'm going to do this there is only one way to go, stright ahead and full throttle. I'm going to tell you about what kind of food you should try, places you might want to eat, all the while putting my stamp on the info I give you. It may be snarky or even a little twisted but I know it will all be worth tuning in for.  So come along little kiddies and lets all join hands and skip marrily down the "yellow brick road" we call life and along the way we'll stop at every greasy spoon, dive, and hole in the wall looking for good food, good drink and most importantly good friends. I just ask you to keep your eyes open because you never know we may just find out if vegetarians do indeed eat animal crackers!!!!!!